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How To CRUSH Your Next Sales Call: Part One Via Phone

It’s hard to believe I’ve been in sales for over 20 years ( and no I am not including lemonade stands!). I have sold everything from men’s shoes, campground timeshares, and legal secretaries to custom trade-show booths, million-dollar databases, and now social media data solutions. No matter the product or industry there are certain rules that I follow and steps that I take to ensure success. Here are a few nuggets:

2) Do your homework: Hoover’s, Yahoo Finance, Wikipedia, their web-site, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and of course Google. Leave no stone unturned. Find out everything you can about your prospect. Know their stock price before you dial. This should prevent you from asking stupid questions.

4) Smile: Keep a mirror handy so you can see yourself smiling. Folks on the other end of the line can hear it. I don’t care if you sat in Poison Ivy AND your dog died this morning, you will put on a happy face or you will sell nothing!

5) Don’t Vomit on your shoes – There’s nothing worse than an obnoxious sales person droning on and and on about their latests and greatest features.

6) Ask open-ended questions: For example, “What happens if you don’t fix this issue in 2010?”

7) Take notes: You don’t want to forget any important changes, tasks, or names.

8 ) Give THEM homework too: Make sure both sides have homework at the end of the call – Whether it’s an MNDA or a visit to your site, make sure both partis have follow-up items.

9) Have a goal for the call: It can be as simple as a “Schedule another meeting”.

10) Be yourself: ” Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” – Oscar Wilde Most important factor in your success is to be yourself and have fun. This is the only way to build relationships successfully over the phone.

Every week you get invited to them. You know you should attend. It will be good for your career. But what happens once you get there? What can you do to prepare???

Here are 11 tips to make a great first impression and make the most of the event:

1) Be Yourself – Stop trying to impress people. Relax, have fun, and be authentic. This goes much further than you think. If you need to have a drink to relax have one…ONE.

2) Bring Cards – business or calling cards, doesn’t matter which. If you are unemployed and are without cards, you have a couple of choices. For zero dollars you can design a 1/4 page flyer and print them off at home. These are completely acceptable at networking events. For some $ you can order cards online. I used FedExOffice but you can use Vistaprint or whoever. I was VERY pleased with the cardstock quality of the FedEx cards (I upgraded to the heavier paper option). Two color, heavy cardstock, single-sided, rush-shipped for about $75. Make sure you include your email address, cell #, and Twitter handle. LinkedIn address is another good option to include.

3) Elevator Speech – Prepare a 10 second, one-sentence spiel about what you do. Practice it so you don’t get caught saying “Uh…Uh…Well, I… uh…”. When asked what you do, give your speech, and ask what they do. DO NOT VOMIT ON THEIR SHOES about how magical the widgets are that you sell.

4) Ask Questions – Opened ended questions are the best! Bradley Will wrote an outstanding post called The Top Three Questions You Could Ever Ask At A Networking Event. One example is “What do you enjoy most about what you do?”. People like talking about themselves. If you ask great questions and then listen. They will remember you as a great conversationalist. (For some reason I am having flashbacks to Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead – read it if you haven’t already)

5) SMILE! – Even if you walk in the room and are thinking to yourself “OMG WTF am I doing here” put on a happy face. Nothing says “I’m approachable and authentic” quite like a smile.

6) Dress-Up – Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you can show up in your pajamas. Just because you are unemployed and/or broke doesn’t mean you should look it. The old rule “Dress for the job you’d like to have next” applies here. If you need help, ask Robin Walker.

7) Follow-Up – Connect on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Send them a tweet. Also check out The Marketing Zen Group’s post Ten Things To Do Immediately Following A Networking Event. Great tips include sending an email as soon as you get home, posting pictures to Facebook, and thanking the host.

8 ) Attend Often – Whether it’s once a week or once a month, become a familiar face in the crowd. This will lead to more introductions for you and you can help connect others.

9) Be Positive – Even if you hate your current boss and /or company speak with passion about what you do…”I LOVE testing widgets!”

10) Shake Firmly – NO DEAD FISH ALLOWED! I don’t care if you went to finishing school and were taught to curtsy, shake a hand like you mean it. A firm handshake = instant respect.

11) Show up with a Top 5 List – Take a look at the guest list and pick out five people you’d like to meet. Research them on Google, LinkedIn, their blog, Twitter, etc. Find out what they’re currently up to so you can ask relevant questions when you meet. Be upfront about your research so you don’t appear creepy (e.g. I was hoping I’d run into you tonight. I read your post regarding the future of widgets…”)

I’m sure to have missed some crucial tips so please comment with more!

Rock on!

This post is Day 3 of The 28 Day Blogging Challenge

This post is dedicated to my awesome brother, Steve Johnson (@Mcfixit), who is my confident, supporter, and webmaster.